Nonhygroscopic starch conversion product and method of manufacture



Patented Mar. 12, 1940 UNITED STATE PATENT worries .NONHYGRO SCOPIOSTARCH CONVERSION PRODUCT AND METHOD OF roan MANUFAC- Ottomar Wolff,Berlin, Germany, assignor to American Maize-Products Company, acorporation of Maine No Drawing. Appiication March 22, 1938, Serial 7No. 197,423. In Germany January 14, 1931 4 Claims; (01. 127-29 Myinvention relates, to starch conversion products and more, particularlyto a" substantially dry, solid, substantially nonhygrescopic corn starchconversion product andfits method of manufacture.

i This application is a continuation in part of my application Ser. No.686,187, filed August 21, 1933 and is a companion application to myapplication Ser. No..196,899 filed March 19, 1938. This companionapplication discloses a process of producing relatively nonhygroscopicdried cornsyrup by controlling the dextrosecontent to a relatively lowamount. The present application discloses a process for producingsubstantially dextrose content.

nonhygroscopic dried syrups having a higher For many years therehasgbeen a desire in the cornproducts industry to produce a dry, solidproduct. from corn syrups -that on exposure to ,the atmosphere wouldremain as astable, dry, solid material. Such a product would be easilyhandleable and could be conveniently packaged in cardboard boxes, papercontainers, sacks, etc. Due to the relatively light weight of the dryproduct and that of the suitable containers as compared fwith the heavyliquid corn syrup and its usual metal containers, it could beshippedeconomically. Another advantage of an anhydrous ,bakery products.'35

solid driedcomsyrup is that it would contain dextrose in readilyassimilable form "andtherefore would be a desirable constituent ofinfant food; also itwould be useful as a filler and nutritive materialfor ice cream, confections and In view of the advantagesand widepotentialuses ofra, solid dry corn syrup product numerous attempts havebeen made heretofore to dry corn syrup to a permanent solid form; As'

far asI am advised however none of these attempts has been successful inproducing a'commercially satisfactory product; the principal dimcultybeing the strong hygroscopic 'properties'of the corn syrup which preventthe production of a dry, stable, storable, relatively nonhygroscopic,solid product. The solid corn syrup products heretofore suggested werehygroscopic and therefore would not remain dry in storage or duringshipment. It has proven difllcult to efiect substantially completedryness in these products initially and even when reduced to a finepowder they would readily absorb moisture from the atmosphere andaccordingly disintegrate or lose the desired dry powdery form by lumpingand baking together. "Iheterm nonhygroscopic as used in thespecification and claims herein to identify the products of my presentinvention intended'to cover-principally those products that i aresufliciently nonhygroscopic to permit shipping in the ordinary mannerwithout undue lumping o; caking of thematerial over a reasonable periodtime. i V

The solid starch degradation products contain- 7 ing about 65% or more0! dextrose are relatively nonhygroscopic. Also it is now known, aspointed out in my companion application, that one can manufacture starchconversion products having relatively low dextrose content' and whichmay contain dextrin, that are relatively nonhygroscopic. Theseconversion products for this in vention' preferably have adextrosecontent of not over about 32% (on a dry weight basis).

Somewhat higher values may. sometimes be used butthis value should neverexceed about 36%. At the low end, it ordinarily will not benecessaryto-stay much below about 24% ,ofidextrose on the dry weight basis; Thepresent invention provides a simple and efficient blending process forobtaining dry, noncaking, relatively nonhygrotothe higher dextrosecontent of 65% or more.

This higher reducing sugar content calculated as dextrose is normallyproduced by alonger reaction of the starchwith the acid under standardtemperature and pressure conditions. With regard to the starchdegradation products whose reducing sugar content islow enough tosh'owno substantially hygroscopic propertiea, it is be lieved that theirstarch molecules have not been disrupted to a suflicient extent toproducethe hygroscopic components present in the intermediate conversionproducts. "While I do not wish to limit my invention to any theory, itis possible that the starch degradation products at the lower end of theabove discussed dextrose range and at the higher end of this rangecontain little or none of the hygroscopic substance (which is probably adisaccharide or a trisaccharide) and for that reason are nonhygroscopic.Also it may be that the colloidal materials in the starchdegradation'products, including the dextrins, serve to render theconverted product less hygroscopic.

In carrying out my invention, I produce a starch conversion liquor bythe usual methods of conversion containing not over about 36% andadvantageously not over about 29% of dextrose based on the-dry weight.However, the dextrose content may be very much lower, ranging down toany desired figure. I have definitely used material having as little as24% of dextrose based on the dry weight and it maybe possible to useless. Another quantity of syrup should at the same time be produced bycarrying on the conversion until the hygroscopic component largelydisappears; for example, untilthe dextrose content is' about 65% or morebased on the dry weight. 'The conversion may be carried to any desiredtop limit. The two syrupsare then mixed inpropOrtion to give the desireddextrose content in the final product. ,The mixed syrup is then purifiedaccording to practiceas usual in syrup manufacture," decoloriz ed in anydesired way, and finally dried, as for example, by the use 7 of spraydryingequipment or a drum dryer min q a matter of mathematics ing the 1minimum dextrose content ranges between about 24% and less than 32%,titfollows as that to get a range of final'pr'o'duct falling between 32%and 54%, I must use anywhere. between an appreciable amount andgabout72% of the materialhaving the higher dextrose 'content and the balanceis"to ,be made uplof material having the lower dextrose content. Withinthese ranges, one can get final products'having between 32% and 54% ofdextrose and if the ingredients are mixed within these ranges; goodresults arelhad. The foregoing figures should'be understood to representthe reducingsubstance content calculated 1 to dextrose on a dry weightbasis.

'foregoing specification withoutideparting from 7 Obviously, a' gre'atmany other proportions and mixtures'may' be madein accordance with the"the spirit of my invention.

' What I claim is? 1. The method of preparing a dry substantially'nonhygr oscopic' product from starch syrups,'said product containingbetween about 32% and about, 54% of reducing sugars calculated asdextrose, and other starch degradation products including dextrins,which comprises mixing a liquor containing a highly saccharified'starchproduct of which over about of the solids is reducing sugars calculatedas dextrose on a dry weight basis, with a liquor containing lesssaccharified starch products of which between about 24% and about 32% ofthe solids is reducing sugars calculated as dextrose on a,dry weightbasis, both liquors also having other nonsolid contents thereofconsisting primarily of dextrins and concentratingthe mixture to a dryform.

2. The method as specified in claim 1, in which the less saccharifiedsyrup has about 24% but 7 less thanabout 29% of the solids as reducingsugars calculated as dextrose on the dry weight basis and the amount ofthe more highly saccharified syrup employed ranges from a minimumappreciable amount to a maximum amount of about 72%.- 4

3. A method of producing a substantially dry,- storable, noncaking,solidified starch syrup product having a reducing sugars content ofbetween about 32% and 54% on a dryweight basis which comprises blending,in proper proportions to produce said dextrose content, a convertedstarch liquor the reducing sugar content of which is about 65% to-% andis sufliciently high to ren-' der the dried product therefrom s torable"and noncaking, with a converted starch liquor, the

reducing sugar content of which is between about 24% and 36% and issufficiently low'to render V the dried product therefrom storable andnonc aking, and drying the mixture of said liquors to produce a dry,storable noncaking product,

the reducing sugar content of :which is within the said range of about32% to 54% and is intermediate that of said high conversion syrup andsaid low conversion syrup and within a range that would normallycharacterize a hygroscopic product produced by'direct conversion withoutl blending, the amount of the high conversion syrup present in the finaldried'nonhygroscopic product ranging from -a minimum appreciable amountup to a maximum of about 72%. F

4. A substantially dry, storable, noncaking, H

solidified starch syrup product, having a reducing sugars content ofbetween about 32% and 54% on a dry weight basis, resulting from blendingin proper proportions to; produce said reducing sugars content aconverted starch liquor the reducingsugars content of which is betweenabout 65% and 95%.andis suificiently high to render the dried producttherefromZstorable and nonca-king, with a. converted, starch liquor, thereducing sugars content of which is between about 24% andv 36% and issufficiently low to render the dried product therefrom storable andnoncaking, and drying the mixture of said liquors to produce a dry,storable, rioncalringproduct, the reducing sugars content oiwhich iswithin .thesaid range of 32% to 54% and is'interm'ediate that of saidhigh conversion syrup and said low conversion syrup and withinarangethat would normally characterize a hygroscopic product produced bydirect conversion without blending.

